Today we are remembering the late Terry Melcher who passed away 13 years ago tod…

Today we are remembering the late Terry Melcher who passed away 13 years ago today. Terry was an musician and record producer, who was instrumental in shaping the sound of 1960’s Southern California rock music. His greatest contribution to the culture of the time was producing The Byrds’ innovative cover hits “Mr. Tambourine Man” and “Turn! Turn! Turn!”, and his work with The Beach Boys.

He was the only child of actress/singer Doris Day.

In the early 1960s, Terry Melcher and Bruce Johnston formed the vocal duet Bruce & Terry. The duo had hits like “Custom Machine” and “Summer Means Fun”. Melcher and Johnston also created another group, The Rip Chords, which had a Top 10 hit with “Hey, Little Cobra”. Later, Johnston would join The Beach Boys.

By the mid-1960s, Melcher had joined the staff of Columbia Records. He worked with Paul Revere & the Raiders, Wayne Newton, Frankie Laine, Jimmy Boyd, Pat Boone, Glen Campbell, Mark Lindsay and The Mamas & the Papas. He was instrumental in signing another L.A. band, the Rising Sons, led by Taj Mahal and Ry Cooder. Melcher performed on the Beach Boys’ platinum album Pet Sounds as a background vocalist, and introduced Brian Wilson to lyricist Van Dyke Parks in February 1966, beginning their partnership on the The Smile Sessions project. Melcher was a board member of the Monterey Pop Foundation and a producer of the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967.

One of the artists Terry decided not to work with was Charles Manson. It was at Melcher’s former home that the Manson Family committed the murder of Sharon Tate and the others.